The artist and the scorpion
by StayStoat
Summary: A short story. Albus S. Potter wants to be a artist. When Scorpius Malfoy confesses to Al on the Hogwarts Express, Al is repulsed at first. However, maybe a relationship is the key to Al becoming a better artist. So Al agrees to date Scorpius, but many obstacles stand in their way. M for sexual scenes.
1. Chapter 1

3

**Chapter 1**

"Hurry up, Hugo!" Aunt Hermione cried.

I was going to start my fifth year at Hogwarts today, along with my cousin Rose. Time sure did pass quickly. It only felt like yesterday that I was worrying about which house I would be sorted into. Unlike, the rest of my family, I had ended up in Slytherin. James was horrified at first, but eventually got used to it.

"I can't wait to go back!" James exclaimed. "Quidditch again!"

Dad laughed, clapping a hand on James' shoulder. "Hopefully, I'll be able to come to one of your matches."

I pushed down the envy I was starting to feel. James was a Seeker and the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team just like Dad had been. They had so many things to talk about, which was the opposite of me. They had spent most of the holidays playing Quidditch, whilst I holed myself up in my room drawing in my sketchpad. Dad had tried to persuade me to come outside and play, but I was adamant in my refusal not to. I never even turned up to the Quidditch matches in school.

"Have you started revision for your O.W.L's?" Rose asked me. As always, she had already changed into her school robes.

"It's just the first day back, Rosie."

"But early than late," She said chirpily. "Come on. The train's leaving soon!" She kissed Aunt Hermione on the cheek.

Uncle Ron ruffled Hugo's hair, and kissed Rose as well. "Make us proud, Rosie. You too, Hugo."

Hugo nodded, grinning.

Mum was hugging Lily. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"Mum!" Lily laughed. "You'll see us at Christmas." Lily was the cute one, James the handsome, and I was just the awkward dorky looking boy in the midst of puberty. I always felt so pathetic next to my two siblings. I might as well just wear a tag around neck with the word 'Loser' on it.

"Al," Dad was giving me an encouraging smile. "Do your best for your O.W.L's."

"Yeah." I muttered. That was easy for him to say. He was the head of the Auror office, which meant people expected big things from me. Well not from me, but more like from James. People forgot that the legendary Harry Potter had another son as well. They only ever seemed to remember James and Lily.

I followed James, Lily, and my cousins on to the Hogwarts Express. James was describing in excessive details about how Gryffindor's first match would most likely be with Slytherin. "You're going to come watch, right Al?" He enquired.

"You know Quidditch doesn't really interest me." Plus, there would be the whole problem of who I had to support. James naturally expected me to cheer him on because he was my brother, but I was still part of Slytherin. It was only natural I would want to support my house as well.

Hugo grinned, pulling the compartment door open. "Hey, Kyle! Hi Betsy!"

Everyone filed into the compartment, greeting Kyle and Betsy. I didn't really know them because they were in Gryffindor, and the only people I talked to who was in Gryffindor was my family. All the seats had been filled, leaving me standing like an idiot.

"Oh," Hugo looked embarrassed, probably for me. "We can always find a bigger compartment."

"It's alright. I'll meet you guys at the hall."

"Are you sure, Al?" Rose asked, looking anxious.

I waved away her concern. "It's just seats. I'll see you later." I left the compartment, before she could say anything else.

I felt guilty for feeling relieved about not sharing a compartment with James, Lily, Rose, and Hugo. I knew Kyle and Betsy didn't like me because I was a Slytherin, but they hid their dislike because of James, who would probably curse them with big teeth if they said anything bad about me. I was always reminded constantly that I was an outsider because I was a Slytherin. I had no friends in Slytherin because I was a Potter, and after the whole Battle of Hogwarts, the Slytherins dislike for Potters just increased. I couldn't hang out with Lily because she had Gryffindor friends she was always hanging about with. So I settled for being on my own.

I found a compartment which I thought was empty. A boy around my age was sitting by the window. He had white blonde hair and grey eyes. He was quite handsome in that angular way, having a slender but not scrawny body. I knew who he was. He was Scorpius Malfoy. He looked up at me through half lidded eyes.

"Um, can I sit here?" I asked.

He nodded.

I sat down opposite him, closing the door. Even though we were in the same year and same house, I had never really spoken to Scorpius before. I knew his father didn't get on with my father back in their school days, but they didn't really hate each other anymore. I guessed it was because they were adults, and thought it was too childish. Uncle Ron had warned Rose and me to stay from him. Malfoys are bad news.

"You aren't hanging out with your Gryffindor family." Scorpius remarked. His voice was low and calm.

I glowered at him. "Just because we're sitting in the same compartment, it doesn't mean we have to talk."

"I never knew Potters could be so hostile," a smirk appeared on his lips. "So not all of you are the good Samaritans you claim to be."

"I never claimed to be a Good Samaritan."

"Of course not," his grey eyes held a mischievous gleam. "After all, you are not your brother."

I felt like he was deliberately trying to provoke me. I knew he held a dislike for James, but if that was supposed to offend me, it wasn't working. James irritated me all the time, so I could understand why Scorpius wouldn't be his biggest fan. I decided to ignore Scorpius for the rest of the journey, and took out my sketchpad.

"What are you drawing?" Scorpius asked.

"None of your business."

"Sounds interesting."

I sighed, looking up from my sketchpad. "If you must know, I am drawing a hippogriff. Did that fact change your life?"

He smiled, getting up to sit beside me. He was uncomfortably too close. "I've been wanting to talk to you for a long time."

"Why?" I tried to act nonchalant.

"Because I like you."

"Um…what?"

Scorpius touched my chin, tilting my face upwards to meet his. His lips started to draw closer to mine. I yelped, shoving him away, leaping to my feet. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Well I was about to kiss you." He grumbled.

"I know that," I snapped. "I meant what you are thinking to do that! I'm not into guys, and especially not you!"

Scorpius snorted. "You think I'm into guys? You're the only exception. If it was any other guy apart from you, I'd be disgusted."

My hands clenched into fists. "Don't make fun of me!"

A look of bafflement appeared on his face. "I'm not mocking you."

I didn't want to talk to him any longer. I grabbed my sketchpad from where it had fallen on the ground, and pushed the compartment door open.

"Hey! Where are you going?" He demanded.

"To another compartment."

"But everywhere else is full."

"Then I'll just stand!" I slammed the door shut.

What the hell was he thinking, confessing his feelings like that? Scorpius wasn't even serious about it. He was just mocking me like everyone else did, so there was no reason to get high strung about it. I was surprised to find that Scorpius liked guys. He was always surrounded by girls due to his handsome looks, so I just naturally assumed he was into girls. Then again, he never really dated any of these girls. Why the hell should I care anyway? I wasn't planning to become his goddamn lover, so it was none of my business. Yet, I couldn't ignore how my heart started pounding wildly when he touched me.

"I'm going crazy." I muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

I sat at the Slytherin table, by myself. I couldn't help but be envious of James, and the others sitting at the Gryffindor table, laughing with their friends. I felt left out, but I would never admit to that. I would sound like a sissy.

The Headmaster, Professor Tumber got up to give his welcoming speech. He was a fat chubby man with a red face. All of the older generation had agreed that Professor Dumbledore was the best Headmaster Hogwarts had ever had. Not many people commented on Professor Snape as he was a Slytherin. I was named after both Headmasters. Dad said he'd hope I would become a great wizard like them, but I didn't think so.

Dad didn't know about my plan to abandon my wizard life in favour for a life as a normal artist. Being an artist was my dream and I didn't want to use magic to make my art famous. I wanted to become successful on my own merit. I didn't even want to think about how Mum and Dad would react to my decision. I would have to start thinking about my career soon. James was going to be an Auror like Dad, which made everyone automatically assume that was what I wanted to do now.

"Enjoy!" Professor Tumber sat down, and food appeared on the table.

I saw House Elves scurrying in and out of the kitchen, yelling to each other that more ham was needed. I bit into my chicken leg, but it didn't taste so good because I wasn't having a good day. I threw my chicken on my plate, and got up to leave.

"Hey, where are you going?" Jeremy Slaver asked, his mouth full of chewed up ham.

I resisted the urge to get out my wand, and force his mouth shut. "I'm not hungry."

Jeremy shrugged his shoulder, taking my piece of bitten chicken. "Suit yourself."

Jeremy Slave was so greedy. No wonder he was the size of a hippo!

I couldn't go to the Gryffindor table because that would be causing a huge scene. So I decided to go to the Slytherin common room, and go to sleep early. I went to the dungeon, and said the password. The stone wall moved away, revealing the entrance. I went inside, and it closed behind me.

As expected, there wasn't anyone in the common room. Everyone was probably downstairs having a merry time eating and laughing with their friends. I flopped down on my bed, and took out my wand. My wand's wood was ebony and the core was dragon heartstring.

I waved it in the direction of my trunk. "_Accio sketchpad._"

My trunk flung open, and my sketchpad came floating towards me with my pencil stuck in the spine. I opened it, and started flicking through my drawings to see if there were any incomplete ones. I had finished most of them; except for one I started drawing in my Care of Magical Creatures class. I had drawn a hippogriff kicking Pierce Norman in the face. It was quite a comical drawing, and made me chuckle to myself.

I took out my journal and started to write down an entry. A journal helped me keep my thoughts together, and it made me feel in control too. Sometimes it helped to write down what you were feeling.

'_I don't know what to tell Mum and Dad. They won't understand why I don't want to be a wizard. I hate being a wizard! I just want to be normal because that is my only chance to become an artist. Magic. Bollocks to magic! Why couldn't I be born normal?_'

I slammed the journal shut, feeling too exhausted to write anymore. I closed my eyes, and slowly drifted off to sleep. My dream was a pleasant one, and I dreamt of a painting of mine being showcased in the National Gallery. I soon forgot all my troubles.

Of course my first lesson back would be my least favourite one, which was Care of Magical Creatures. I hated the outdoors, being practically allergic to the fresh air. To make it worst, our lesson was with Gryffindor.

The bad blood between Gryffindor and Slytherin had increased since the Battle of Hogwarts. Most of the older Slytherin generation had sided with Voldemort. When some of them realised that their arses were getting whipped badly, they switched sides. The Malfoys were one of the families who switched.

"I just had to think about Malfoys." I muttered. Scorpius' confession on the train yesterday had disturbed me. I had lied to him when I said I didn't like guys. There was one time when I was fourteen that I had a crush on one of James' friend who had come to visit us during the summer. I never told him how I felt because I knew he detested me for being a Slytherin. I would never go out with a Malfoy. Dad had told me not to make an enemy out of Scorpius, but he didn't say to be best friends with him either. Besides, he was too arrogant for me.

I reached Hagrid's hut, and saw that Rose and her friends were already there. Rose always felt the need to be early to her lessons. She was talking to Hagrid happily. Hagrid had long scruffy grey hair with a grey beard. Although he was old, being eighty seven, he was still strong enough to be the gamekeeper and the Care of Magical Creatures teacher.

He saw me approaching, and grinned. "Why hello Al. haven't seen you for a while."

"Um…yeah," I scratched my hair, feeling a bit nervous. "Sorry. I've been busy." I hadn't been busy at all, but rather studiously avoiding Hagrid. I just felt too self-conscious of the fact that I was the only Slytherin in Hagrid's hut. Every time James slagged off the Slytherins, he would give me a quick apology claiming I wasn't like the others. They were still my House, even if they were jerks to me.

Rose frowned. "Are you okay, Al? You look pale."

"I'm fine. I'm just not used to fresh air."

Hagrid laughed. "No one would ever guess you're Harry's son, eh? Complete opposites!"

I was saved answering by a slow cold drawl. "Are we just going to stand here waiting for the Yeti to get his brain to function?"

Scorpius Malfoy stood surrounded by Slytherins smirking. He looked handsome as usual. The crowd of Slytherins laughed at his lame joke.

Rose's eyes flashed with anger. I could tell she was about to snap back an insult at him, which was a bad idea. Dad had told us not to make an enemy of the Malfoys. I didn't know what he'd done to end the enmity between him and Mr Malfoy, but I had a feeling he'd be upset if we broke the truce. I placed a hand on Rose's arm. "Just ignore him."

Rose looked she was about to argue, but gave in. "You're right. He's not worth getting worked up about. Let's go."

"Come on then!" Hagrid barked, strolling in the direction of the Forbidden Woods.

We all followed him into the Forbidden Woods. I walked behind Rose and her friend Betty Banks. Betty was quite a pretty girl with copper brown coils clustered around her face and big baby blue eyes. According to Rose, Betty thought I was quite cute but she couldn't go out with me because I was a Slytherin. I never really liked her anyway.

"Here we are," Hagrid stopped in a meadow. "I present to you a hippogriff." He gestured to a creature that walked out from a bush.

The creature had a mixture of body parts from a horse and an eagle. It had the head, front legs and wings of an eagle. Its body and hind legs were that of a horse. Hagrid threw a dead weasel to it. The hippogriff gobbled it up in one gulp. I vaguely remembered Dad mentioning a hippogriff called Buckbeak, but I couldn't remember the whole story.

"Wow." Betty said, staring at the hippogriff with wide eyes.

"Hippogriffs are fairly easy to tame," Hagrid explained. "As long as you know how to treat them with proper respect, you'll be fine. In order to gain a hippogriff's trust you must bow first. If he/or she bows back then you can pet them, and you can even ride a hippogriff, but don't do that without my say so. Now find a partner, and pick a hippogriff!"

I was about to go up to Hagrid, and tell him I have no partner when Scorpius stepped in front of me. "Let's go."

I blinked. "What?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "You're the only one who will get the work done. Don't be a pussy."

"I'm not being a pussy!"

"Then come on." He picked a hippogriff from the herd, and led it away with dead weasels.

"Um…why are we going so far away from the class?" I asked, following him into the forest.

"We need space. This is a good spot," He stopped the hippogriff a couple of feet away from Hagrid and the class. "Do you want to go first?"

I didn't say anything, staring at him warily. I still hadn't forgotten his declaration from yesterday, and I hadn't forgiven him for mocking me either. I didn't trust him at all.

Scorpius laughed. "Don't worry. I'm not going to pin you on the ground and take away your virtue."

I felt myself flush. "Shut up, and get on with it." I sat down, and leaned against the tree, watching Scorpius bowing down to the hippogriff.

The hippogriff regarded Scorpius for a while, but then slowly bowed down to him. I couldn't help but be surprised by this. I was betting a galleon that the hippogriff would kick Scorpius in the face. It would make quite an interesting drawing. Scorpius moved to pat the hippogriff, and the hippogriff rubbed its beak against Scorpius' hand.

Scorpius gave me a triumphant smile. "I'm the Master of hippogriffs!"

"Add Master of Stupid to that list as well." I scoffed.

"Mr Hippogriff, do you want to meet my friend?" Scorpius grabbed my hand, pulling me up on my feet.

"Hey!" His hand was surprisingly warm. I had started up a theory that the Malfoy's had shark blood in them.

"Say hi to Mr Hippogriff." He shoved me towards the creature.

"A very creative name, and how do you know if it's a he?"

Scorpius shrugged his shoulders. "I just assumed that dangly thing was a—"

"Okay! I'm bowing." I bowed my head, not wanting to know what Scorpius assumed.

The hippogriff bowed down to me, probably piecing together I was a friend of Scorpius (even though we were far from that). I moved to stroke the hippogriff's head, and it made a whinnying sound like a horse. Well it was half horse after all.

"We should head back to Hagrid."

"Or," Scorpius' eyes twinkled with amusement. "We can ride Mr Hippogriff."

"What! Are you crazy?! Hagrid said not to ride the hippogriff without his say so!"

"The Yeti doesn't have to know." Scorpius was already mounting the hippogriff.

"Stop calling him the Yeti!"

"Would you rather I call him oaf? Does ape work?"

"_His name is Hagrid, you piece of shit!_"

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "I never took you for a feisty one. You surprise me more and more Albus Severus. Are you coming?"

"No!"

"Suit yourself. I just thought you'd want this back." He waved a familiar blue notebook in front of me.

I gasped. That was my journal! How the hell did he get that? The bastard must have stolen it when I was sleeping. I made a grab for it, but Scorpius held it high out of my reach. "Now, now. If you want this, get on the hippogriff."

I glared at him, wanting to turn him into something horrible. Maybe he could turn into a rat as that was what he was. I got on the hippogriff, wrapping my arms around his waist, and then we were in the sky.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **

"Enjoying the ride?" Scorpius yelled over the whistling wind.

"Fuck you!" I shouted back.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Take it as a 'fuck you'. Where exactly are we landing?"

We had been flying for possibly twenty minutes now, and all I could focus on was my journal. I had no doubt that Scorpius had read everything, which pissed me off. He might as well have stripped me naked. Those entries were really private, and if anyone else read them I'd be in serious trouble. Especially with my parents.

Scorpius urged the hippogriff to land near the Black Lake. The hippogriff landed, and we clambered off its back. It immediately went to drink water from the lake. Scorpius yawned stretching his muscles. "Man that was a good ride."

"Give me back my journal."

Scorpius pulled it out from under his robes, and began flicking through the pages. The pages made crinkling noises under his fingers. "It was quite an interesting read, but I think your parents won't be happy to read it. Oh, I wonder how your brother would react if I showed it to him."

"What do you want?" From the way Scorpius was smiling, I knew he was going to blackmail me with something. I couldn't understand why. There was absolutely nothing that I could give him which he didn't already have.

"Go out with me."

"Wha—ha!" I burst out laughing at such a ridiculous proposal. He was acting like something out of a romantic comedy. It was pathetic. "Sorry. I don't go out with guys like you."

Scorpius pretended to be sad, but I knew he wasn't. He couldn't hide the joy at seeing me in distress. "Well, I guess I'll just have to show this to everyone." He started to walk towards the hippogriff.

"Wait!" I gritted my teeth in frustration. "Why me? I'm not good looking, not cool, or popular. I'm a total loser, so why are you so interested in me?"

He twirled my journal in his hands. "You are gawky," he admitted. "But I think it makes you cute, and you're interesting. So is it a deal?"

"How long do I have to go out with you until I can get my journal back?" I asked, fighting the urge to take my wand out and giving him big buck teeth.

"Until I get bored of you, but I don't see why you're looking at this as a death sentence. It will help improve your art."

I snorted in disbelief. "What would you know about art?"

"I know that most artists put feeling into their art, and that's what makes their work good. How can you do that when you haven't experienced feeling?"

I hated to admit it, but what he said was true. I had never experienced a relationship before, and when I looked at my work I always felt it was lacking something. Could it be that what it was lacking was emotion? I tried to weigh the pros and cons of entering this deals. The pros would be that I would get my journal back and my art could improve as well. The cons would be that I would be dating a Malfoy who is hated by my whole family. People would raise eyebrows and ask too many questions so we'd have to keep it a secret. Thirdly, I didn't even like Scorpius. He had an awful personality.

There seemed to be more cons than pros, but I had to do this for the sake of getting my journal back, and my art. "Fine. I'll go out with you."

"Great," Scorpius placed my journal back in his robe pockets. "Come here, then."

I frowned. "For what?"

He sighed in exasperation. "Have you actually ever dated anyone?"

I blushed. "I don't have to put up with your taunting!"

"I'm not taunting you. I'm teaching you. There's a difference. On a first date, you often have your first kiss."

"D-date? Who said we were on a date?!"

It was Scorpius' turn to become indignant. "Well I think going for a romantic ride on a hippogriff together counts as a date."

I didn't find anything romantic about it. My butt felt sore, and the wind kept blowing my hair in front of my face which was irritating. Also, Scorpius' elbow kept digging into my ribs which were painful as his elbow was quite sharp. It was the most uncomfortable ride I had ever imagined. "You're delusional."

"Delusional or not, I want my kiss. So stop wasting time."

"I said no."

Scorpius narrowed his grey eyes. He moved so fast that he was just a blur. I found myself pinned down on the grass with him sitting on top of my chest.

"Hey!" I squirmed under his grip. "Let go of me."

"There's one thing you should know about me. I don't take no for an answer." His eyes were cold, sending shivers down my spine.

"Forcing me to do something against my will is assault!"

"Fine. I'll just take this journal and—"

"No!"

"Then let me kiss you."

Scorpius wasn't going to give up, and I couldn't let him show that journal to anyone else. "Just get it over with."

"Maybe closing your eyes will help." He suggested.

I scowled at him. "I'm not a simpering maid. Get it over with, already."

Scorpius cupped my cheek, and his face drew closer to mine. He kissed me, his lips tasting warm. I had expected them to be scaly, but they were delightfully soft. There, he kissed me, now we could leave, but he wasn't moving away. He deepened the kiss, his tongue swirling around mine.

"Ngh!" I tried to tell him to stop, but I couldn't form any words. I found myself getting lost in him.

His hands slipped underneath my shirt. The feel of his warm hands caused me to gasp in surprise. No, this was going way too fast. He had only asked for a kiss, and nothing more. I didn't like how my body felt like it was on fire when he touched me. A small moan escaped my mouth.

"You sound like you're enjoying yourself." He murmured, pressing his lips to my nape.

"Shut—AH!" Scorpius had just bit down really hard on my neck. I pushed him away, rubbing the sore spot.

Scorpius was shaking with laughter, smiling deviously. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself."

"You idiot! How am I going to explain this mark on my neck?"

"Tell them you got a love bite from your very handsome boyfriend."

"Why you—"

"Wow, it's been two hours already!" Scorpius moved towards the hippogriff. "We better get back to the Yeti. He's probably wondering where we are."

Scorpius was right about Hagrid. As soon as we came back to the clearing, most of the class had left. The only ones waiting for us were Rose and Betty.

"Didn't you hear what I told you?" Hagrid snarled. "Don't fly on the hippogriffs! It's a lucky thing you didn't get hurt. I'm disappointed in you Al. I thought you were less stupid than Malfoy here!"

I felt my face heat up, and immediately felt guilty. I hadn't visited Hagrid for a while, which must have hurt his feelings, and I had made him worry as well. I was a horrible person. "Sorry."

Hagrid gave Scorpius and me a dark look, and took the hippogriff away from us. He walked off, muttering to himself.

Rose glared at me. "What were you thinking? How could you do something so reckless?"

"I don't recall you being our mother." Scorpius remarked.

Rose flashed him a murderous look, and her hand even flew to her wand. "Don't piss me off, Malfoy." She said his name like it was a dirty word.

I flashed Scorpius a pleading look, begging him to leave. I didn't want the situation to get any worst than it already was. Scorpius got my message, and walked off, his shoulders tensed. He was probably going to be pissed off at me later, but right now I couldn't afford to have him starting a fight with my family.

"That guy has issues." Betty stared after Scorpius' retreating form with distaste.

Rose ignored Betty. Her attention was focused on me. "Al, stay away from him. Isn't that what our parents told us?"

"I know. I'll see you later, Rose." I turned around to leave, not wanting my cousin to see my flustered face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

I was sitting on the benches outside on the Quidditch fields as the common room was filled. My mind was too tired to focus on starting a new drawing from scratch, so I just drew a landscape of the field.

I suddenly felt something fall into my lap. James had chucked a weather beaten old book into my lap. It was called _Quidditch Through the Ages_. "Why are you giving this to me?"

James was dressed in his Quidditch robes holding his Firebolt. "You're going to see the match tomorrow, so you need to understand it."

I sighed. "James, you know I don't—"

"Come on," he wheedled. "This will be my first match as Captain of the Gryffindor Team. Can't you support your brother?"

If I supported Gryffindor, I would just increase the dislike of my fellow Slytherins to outright hatred. If I didn't support James, he would be hurt by my lack of encouragement, and would probably be pissed at me for the whole year. It was the worst dilemma imaginable.

"Come on, James!" One of the Beaters called out.

James grinned at me. "See you at the match tomorrow!" He jogged towards his teammates, already barking out orders.

Sometimes, I felt jealous of James' natural ease around people. People would just naturally gravitate towards James, as he gave off the aura of leadership. People liked having someone to depend on, and everyone depended on James. I used to rely on James for a lot of things, until I realised I couldn't do that anymore because I was an outsider. I was the only Slytherin in the Potter family, which had never happened before. My grandparents had been Gryffindors as well, and probably my great grandparents.

"Oh god. Is it me or did things just get slimy?" Someone joked.

I looked up to see the Slytherin Quidditch Team marching on to the field in their emerald green Quidditch robes. The Captain of the Quidditch team was Royce Boor, who was also a certified douche. He was a big beefy red faced guy with a shaved head, and big nostrils.

I spotted Scorpius standing to one side, looking quite bored. My hand instinctively touched the love bite that I had covered with a scarf. Damn him. We hadn't spoken to each other since our Care of Magical Creatures lesson, much to my relief. I was still angry at him for giving me a love bite.

A cold expression appeared on my brother's face. "What are you doing here? We reserved the field for today."

"So? We don't give a shit." Royce proclaimed, smirking.

"Well you should." James' voice was taut with anger, which was never a good sign. If things didn't calm down, someone would be vomiting slugs soon. James had done it to me once, and it wasn't very pleasant.

"Is that a threat, Potter?" Royce asked, his hand moving to his wand.

Scorpius snorted at this. "Please. Potter is too much of a pussy to threaten us."

James cocked an eyebrow. "At least my mother's pussy isn't open to everyone."

Scorpius' face flushed. I could see that he was really angry, but he was trying to hard to remain calm. Maybe he was trying not to let James win in letting him know that he had been wound up. "You better shut your mouth, Potter."

I sighed. This was the worst thing to say to James because he would always do the complete opposite of what you told him. James smirked, a devious glint in his eyes. "I wonder if there is such a thing as a slut gene. From what I've heard, your grandmother was doing it with five men, and now I bet your mum would probably suck the Giant Squid's tentacles if she could."

Scorpius was so fast. He whipped out his wand, pointing it at James, and James was suddenly flung backwards. He didn't even have to say the words out loud! Only the most talented wizards could think spells and they would happen. I only admired Scorpius for a second, before my attention turned to my brother.

"James!" I yelled.

Scorpius spun around, glaring at me ferociously. I tried not to flinch under his scorching gaze. He honestly couldn't expect me to not worry about James. By now, everyone on the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams had gotten out their wands, and was hurling hexes at each other.

"Hey!" I cried out, trying to doge hexes hitting my head. "Stop it, you morons!"

Scorpius waved his wand in the air, and everyone froze. He must have used some sort of advance spell. He walked over to me, grabbed me by the arm, and started dragging me away.

"Let go of me!" I tried to shake off his grip, but he just tightened it. "Where are you taking me?"

"Stop squirming," he snarled viciously, causing me to wince. "Now come on."

Scorpius led me inside and towards our dormitories. There was no one inside the dormitory as people were probably enjoying the nice sunny weather. No one would want to be cooped up when it was really hot. He waved his wand, and my sketchpad floated out of my trunk. "Draw me."

"What?" I blinked in confusion.

"Draw me." Scorpius stretched the syllables out as if I couldn't speak English.

I was confused by this random request, but I thought it was safer to just oblige. Scorpius didn't look like he was in the mood for arguing, and I didn't want to be at the receiving end of his wand. Oh, god that just came out sounding wrong. I dismissed any thoughts of that, and opened my sketchpad. "Just sit down on the bed."

"Can I lie down?"

"If you want."

Scorpius threw his broom on the floor, and stretched out on his bed. "Do you want me nude?"

"No," I replied dryly. "I don't want to go blind."

He flashed me a lewd smile. "Of course. That will only happen tonight."

I stopped drawing, panic starting to eat in on my chest. "What?"

"You think I'm just going to let you remain a virgin while you're with me?"

"Who says I'm a virgin?" I snapped indignantly, even though I was. I hated the way Scorpius just naturally assumed things about me. I had never thought about losing my virginity like other boys my age. I knew for a fact James wasn't a virgin, but he never talked about stuff like that with me. It would just be too awkward. The rare times I did imagine my first time, I had always pictured it being with a girl, despite the fact that my first crush had been a boy.

Scorpius snickered. "You're so defensive, and you blush way too much. What are you, a twelve year old girl? Well, I guess that's what I like about you."

"So you have a fetish for a twelve year old girl, you perv."

Scorpius laughed. It was the first time I had heard him genuinely laugh without it being bitter or mocking. I thought his face looked much nicer and less harsh when he smiled. I decided to draw him in that moment. It was his best moment, and I really liked his face that way.

"Are you really going to give up the wizarding world for the muggle one?" Scorpius asked.

"You've read my journal." I still felt sour about that.

"Well yes, but I can't imagine living without magic."

"I can." I knew most muggles would love to have magic, but they didn't understand how disruptive it was. There was always danger, and I felt I belonged in the muggle world. I just wanted to be ordinary which was impossible as I was from the Potter family. My dad had defeated Lord Voldemort for god's sake and was head of the Auror office. How could I possibly ever be normal in the magical world?

"Is there anyone you'd miss?"

"I'd obviously miss my family, but I will go see them."

"Anyone in Hogwarts?"

There was no one at Hogwarts who I talked to. Scorpius was the first person outside of my family who I had shared a proper conversation with (as well as a few kisses and other stuff). Of course, I could never tell him that. "The drawing's finished." I passed my sketchpad to him.

Scorpius examined the drawing appreciatively. "You got talent, but I don't look like that. Maybe you _are _blind."

"I'm not blind. That's how you look when you are really smiling."

He looked up from the pad and at me. "So you think I'm hot."

I felt my cheeks go hot. "Don't be ridiculous! I think you're uglier than Peeves!"

"Really?" He handed my notepad back to me. "I feel like going out today. Want to go to The Three Broomsticks?"

"_Now? _But it's nearly five. We won't get back before curfew."

"Such a good boy," Scorpius taunted. "Your mummy would be so proud."

I shouldn't have let him goad me, but I wasn't good at dealing with Scorpius. I hated his condescending attitude, and I wanted to prove him wrong. "Let's go."

Firewhiskey was the best drink to ever have been made. At first, it left a burning sensation in my throat, but eventually it gave me a weird feeling. I drained my third glass, and slammed it down on the table. "I want some more!"

"You should take it easy," Scorpius had only taken three sips of his first glass, and he was staring at me doubtfully. "You'll get drunk."

"Shaddup! You're the one who told me to taste Firewhiskey."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. It's your call."

The barmaid came with a bottle of Firewhiskey and refilled my glass with me. Her dress was really low cut, revealing the top of her boobs. She kept smiling at Scorpius, but the guy was oblivious to her. He was staring out of the window, a distant look on his face.

I took a sip of my Firewhiskey, and closed my eyes in ecstasy. Man, it tasted so good. I could drink it everyday, and I still wouldn't get bored of it. The Firewhiskey drove away thoughts of my current problems with James and my family. For once, I could just forget about all my worries.

"You're actually a cool guy," I said to Scorpius. "If it weren't for you, I would have never discovered the pleasures of Firewhiskey."

"Maybe I should introduce you to AA." Scorpius muttered.

"Ha-ha," I leaned back into my chair. "I'm not drunk."

"I know. If you were drunk, you'd be doing a leprechaun dance on the table right now."

"People do that when they're drunk?"

"I've seen it happen. You're just a little bit loopy."

"Oh."

Silence ensued again. I could tell something was bothering Scorpius, but I had no idea how to ask him. We weren't exactly friends. I had no idea what we were! We'd kissed but I didn't want to at that time, but now I did. Wait, what was that thought just now? I didn't want to kiss Scorpius of my own will. I was forcing myself to do that because he was blackmailing me, and a relationship could help improve my art. That was it. Nothing else.

"Why are you staring at me?" Scorpius enquired.

"I was just thinking about why I had the sudden urge to kiss you." I said absent-mindedly.

"What?"

I clapped my hands on my mouth, suddenly realising my Freudian slip. The Firewhiskey must have slowed down my thinking. Damn it! Now what was I going to do? I tried to think up of a way to cover my slip. "I um…I uh…"

Scorpius cupped my chin, his grey eyes shining. "I accept your proposal, Albus."

"Wai—!" His lips clamped down on mine, and I gave in immediately. I missed the warmth of his lips, and I craved them with a passion. The kiss deepened, and his tongue wrapped around mine.

He broke away. "Not here. Somewhere more private."

"Like where?" I came out sounding desperate.

Scorpius got up, smiling. "I have the perfect place."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

Scorpius led me on to the seventh floor, stopping before a wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls' ballet. He started pacing before the wall.

"W-what are you doing?" I asked, my desire becoming too much for me to handle.

To my astonishment, a door appeared in the wall. Scorpius grinned, opening the door. I followed him inside, too confused as to what was going on.

The room was quite plain, the only thing in the room a king sized bed. Scorpius kicked the door shut.

"What is this roo—ngh!" Scorpius attacked me with a rough kiss, his hands sliding underneath my robes. I tried to get words out, but his kisses were stopping me from forming any words.

Scorpius pinned me down on the bed. This was crazy! We barely knew each other, and I was doing _this _with him. It was wrong, but it felt so good!

Scorpius pulled off my robes, and then started to unbutton my trousers. He pushed his hand inside. "You've gotten hard." He muttered.

"S-shut up." I gasped.

He shrugged off his robes and loosened his tie. He ripped open my shirt, and started tracing kisses down my stomach. I felt embarrassed by my skinny build, but Scorpius didn't seem to care. I shuddered at the feel of his lips on my skin.

"I've been waiting to do this." He murmured.

"P-pervert." I managed to get out.

He tweaked my nipple, making me cry out. His touch was sending my mind into disarray. I couldn't focus on anything, and I felt dizzy, but I didn't want him to stop. He shrugged of his shirt, revealing his hardened muscles. Of course his body would be in good shape seeing as he was on the Quidditch Team.

He started to pull off my trousers, and that was what made me get a hold of myself. I didn't want to do this when I was half drunk. I shoved him away with all my force. He toppled backwards, looking bewildered.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He growled.

My body felt hot, and I was starting to feel feverish. The Firewhiskey had made everything blurry. "I feel like puking."

"Shit." Scorpius grabbed his wand from his discarded robes and conjured up a bucket for me just in time.

I puked out the Firewhiskey and my breakfast, feeling slightly better. "Sorry."

"Idiot," he cuffed me lightly on the back of my head. "Why didn't you say you felt sick?"

"I was trying to!" I got up on my feet shakily.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You have to make it up to me by attending the Quidditch match tomorrow."

"No fucking way!"

"In that case, I guess we can continue." He made a grab for me.

"Fine! I'll attend!" I hated it when Scorpius got his way.

He beamed. "Great! Now you can see how cool your lover is—"

I interrupted him by vomiting into the bucket.

As predicted, I woke up the next morning with a massive hangover, which I had to ignore. Goddamn this fucking Quidditch match. I didn't know who I should support. Family loyalty dictated I wear the Gryffindor scarf, but common sense suggested I support my house as well as the guy who I was dating.

The memory of how close I came to losing my virginity last night caused my cheeks to flame. Last night would have been the first time I could lose my virginity, and I mucked it up by puking into a bucket. So romantic.

I drained the rest of my pumpkin juice, and followed a group of Slytherins out on to court. I should say something to Scorpius before he started the match, but he might just mock me. I was turning more and more into a girl. This was all Scorpius' fault! If he hadn't found my journal, I would never have gotten into this situation. Scorpius knew I would be supporting him anyway, so there was no need to visit him.

I sat down with the Slytherins, and watched the two teams come out. The Gryffindors cheered loudly when they saw James. James shook hands with the Slytherin Captain, and the whistle was blown.

The match was boring as I expected. James and Scorpius were still flying around, searching for the snitch, and Beaters were just whacking the Bludgers back and forth. Gryffindor's Chasers managed to score thirty points with Slytherin's Chasers ten points behind.

"Fucking Gryffindors." Gregg Falls muttered beside me.

"Right." I wasn't paying attention to the match.

"The race for the snitch is on!" The commentator shouted.

James and Scorpius were flying side by side, with the golden Snitch zooming in front of them. I clenched my hands, willing Scorpius to catch it. Come on! You are so close! Prove those Gryffindors wrong!

James' hand closed around the Snitch, and the Gryffindors cheered loudly, whilst the Slytherins groaned in agony. I sighed, my shoulders slumping. It wasn't fair. Scorpius was trying so hard, and James had just about managed to catch it. The spotlight was always on James, no one else. Just for once, could he not always claim glory? It pissed me off.

I could see from Scorpius' forlorn expression that he was already blaming himself, but it wasn't his fault. I didn't understand why there had to be so much pressure on the Seeker. I got out of my seat, and walked out on to the fields to greet Scorpius. Someone should at least praise him for his hard work.

I saw the Bludger flying in Scorpius' direction before anyone else.

"Scorpius!" I yelled, but I was too late.

The Bludger smacked into Scorpius' head, and he fell down on his face, groaning in pain.

"Arsehole!" A Slytherin Chaser snarled at the Gryffindor Beaters.

"We didn't do anything." The Beater lied.

James was just standing by, watching the whole thing passively. Why wasn't he telling his Beaters off for their actions?

"Tell your Beaters to back off." I snarled at my brother.

James raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're talking about, Al."

I was so furious that I couldn't even explain it in words. So I whipped my wand out, pointed it at him, and shouted, "Slugs!"

A light shot out of my wand, blasting James backwards.

"Al!" Lily shrieked, standing with Rose and Hugo.

"You just attacked your own brother!" Rose cried.

They were right. Sure, James and I had fought a lot of times, but none of us had gone so far as to hex each other. I had just cursed my own brother to defend a Slytherin, and not just any Slytherin, but a _Malfoy_. I didn't like Scorpius. I detested him. He had blackmailed me into a relationship I didn't want, and he was always taunting me, and belittling me. His personality was awful! So why was I defending him?

James got up, opened his mouth, and a slug plopped out, falling on to the ground.

"Al?" Scorpius touched his forehead, which was starting to bleed.

"_Al,_" Hugo echoed. "Since when is Malfoy allowed to call you Al?"

I was saved from answering when Madam Hooch instructed me to take Scorpius to the Hospital Wing. I helped Scorpius up, wrapping one arm around my shoulder, and taking him inside. Rose was probably going to question me later, but right now I had a chance to delay it.

Madam Pomfrey's daughter, who was creatively called Madame Pomfrey II took one look at Scorpius, and placed him on a bed.

"I don't understand why Quidditch is so violent." She complained, whilst she bandaged Scorpius' head.

"Is he going to be alright?" I asked.

"He'll be fine. I've just given him a sleeping potion." She left to attend to another patient.

I looked down at Scorpius. His face looked peaceful and less sharp when he slept. Maybe this was what the Scorpius without the cold exterior looked like. I had seen him like this when he had smiled during that time when I was drawing him. I liked this Scorpius better than the cold façade he put on.

"I have no idea why I did that to James for you," I said. It was easier to say this out in the open when he was asleep. "You're a lying, scheming bastard, and you make my life a misery. Do you think I like you biting me all the time? You're not a freaking vampire so stop! That's not the point though. You have too many faults to count. Being irritating as fuck is one of them, but I…don't hate you. In fact I admired you. I noticed you before you confessed to me on the train. I was always jealous with the way you could easily talk to people, and not be ashamed of your family.

"You were an outsider just like me. I'm the son of the great Harry Potter, but I ended up in Slytherin. I'm the stain in the family that everyone wants to have removed. Your family is branded as cowards, but you always looked so happy, and that was why I was jealous. Why couldn't I be happy like you? Why did I have to feel this way? I wanted to be you. I…I like you a lot." I sighed. I really was a pathetic human being.

"You choose to say all of that when I'm sleeping?" Scorpius' grey eyes were open, sparkling with amusement.

"Wha—I—But—_She gave you a sleeping pill!_" I was aghast that he had heard all of those embarrassing things.

"I was for five minutes."

"You bas—argh! Let go of me!"

Scorpius had pulled me down on top of him, and had wrapped his hands around my waist. "The curtains are closed, so no one can see us."

"You're meant to be injured!"

He snorted. "It's going to take more than a Bludger to seriously injure me. Just let me hold you like this. I promise not to do anything else."

Scorpius wasn't going to let me go, so I gave up my struggles. If he did anything perverted, I would make him vomit slugs. I leaned my head on his chest, hearing his heartbeat. It was pumping really fast. Could it be me that was making his heart race? The thought gave me a strangely content feeling.

"I lied to you about a lot of things." He said.

"You? No way!"

"Shut up with the sarcasm," he snapped. "I'm trying to tell you something important."

"Fine."

Scorpius' fingers ran through my hair. They felt soft, and I closed my eyes enjoying the feel of his slender fingers. "I said I liked you because you're interesting, but that's a lie. You are interesting, but you're more than that. You have a talent that no one else has, and you are kind. I want to be kind like you. I don't want to be like my parents because I can be better than that. I admire you for that, Al, because you aren't like most Slytherins. I don't want to be apart from you, but I don't want you to go out with me because of blackmail. So that's why I'm giving this back." He pulled out my journal from underneath his pillow.

I felt my heart stop. Scorpius was giving me my journal back, which meant I wouldn't have to go out with him anymore. I was free, but I didn't feel as happy as I should be. I took the journal from him, staring at it with a mixture of feelings. This journal had bound me to Scorpius, and now it had unbound me. I could leave him now.

I stared into his grey eyes. "Is this a trick?"

Scorpius loosened his arms around my waist, and pushed me away. "Go."

He wasn't joking, but was actually letting me go. I clambered off his bed, and hesitated. Maybe I should say something to him, but what could I say? I could apologise for his injury, but that wasn't really my fault, and I had dealt with James. In the end I just left him without saying another word.


	6. Chapter 6

3

**Chapter 6 **

I apologised to James half-heartedly, and he accepted it, thumping me on the back. I spent more time with my family, returning to the old days. Scorpius had stopped being my partner in our Care of Magical Creatures lesson. I should have expected that. We weren't dating anymore, so there was no reason for us to keep talking to each other.

I should have been happy. I was free from the psycho, and I wouldn't be forced to let him do pervy things to me. So why did I feel so depressed? Well, he was good company, and he was the only companion I had in Slytherin. Now I was back to being on my own.

"I should forget about him." I muttered, sitting in the hall, eating my breakfast.

The owls came swooping in with mail, and I felt an envelope land into my lap. It was probably from Mum and Dad. I opened it, and it was the usual stuff. Teddy and Victorie's engagement party was coming up, and we were going to go home for Christmas. Grandma Molly had already started knitting me a sweater.

I involuntarily looked down to where Scorpius was sitting. I had been doing that a lot lately. He had received no mail, but he looked pretty happy smiling and laughing with his friends. I felt an ugly feeling come into my chest. When we had hung out together, he rarely smiled, but now he was always grinning like an idiot. Had he been that miserable with me? He was the one who asked me out in the first place!

"Hey," Rose was suddenly standing in front of me. "Have you gotten a date for the Yule Ball yet?"

I had completely forgotten about the Ball that was always held during the Triwizard Tournaments. Normally the Yule Ball was held during the Triwizard Tournaments, but this year they decided to hold it before the tournaments actually started. I had no idea why they had decided to change it.

I shook my head. "It kind of slipped my mind."

"Really?" She perked up. "Well Betty doesn't have a date either. So…"

I groaned, getting up from my seat. "I don't need you to be my matchmaker."

"You have to go out with someone!" She called out after me.

Unfortunately, Rose was right. It was customary for everyone to dance with a partner. My options were pretty narrow as most girls thought I was a loser, and I had never made any effort to get to know any girls. I only knew Betty through Rose, which was pretty pathetic. Plus, my dating history was probably the saddest thing. I had only gone out with a boy, and that had lasted for about a month before he dumped me.

Normally, I used to enjoy the trips to Hogsmeade, but now all I felt like doing was sleeping. Nearly everyone I passed was hanging out with friends or on dates. Only Albus Severus Potter would be on his own. Geez, no wonder Scorpius had gotten tired of me.

I entered The Three Broomsticks, ordered a Butterbeer, and sat at a table in the corner. After my last experience with Firewhiskey, I wasn't willing to try it again for a while. I took out my sketchpad and pencil, and opened it. I flicked through the drawings, and stopped at my sketch of Scorpius' smiling face. He looked so good, and I found myself suddenly craving for him. I wanted to feel his soft lips and slender fingers.

"What am I thinking?" I cried, burying my head in my arms. I didn't like Scorpius! He was a horrible person, and I was glad to never have to talk to him again. He treated me like shit, and I didn't need someone like that.

"Say, it's Potter." Royce Boor, and Joe Butcher stood before me, smiling.

Standing off to one side was Scorpius and a girl. I didn't know for sure, but her name was Belladonna Pierce. Her arm was linked to Scorpius'. I felt myself go cold at seeing the two of them like that. He had already found someone else to replace me so quickly. Maybe he never really liked me, but was toying with me. I hated him! I wanted him to die, and that bitch to rot in hell.

"Little pussies like you shouldn't be here." Joe taunted.

I got up from the table. "I'll go."

I passed Scorpius, not even bothering to look at him, and left the pub. Goddamn it, why did he have to come in with a girl? It made me so angry, but I didn't see why I should be. We weren't going out anymore.

There was no point for me to loiter around in Hogsmeade when I wouldn't be enjoying myself, so I might as well just return to the castle. I trudged back to the castle, staring down at my feet morosely.

"Hey, Al!" I turned around to see Betty running up to me.

"Hi, Betty." I forced a smile on to my face. I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, but I couldn't afford to be rude to Rose's friend after I had just gotten back into her good books.

"You look sad. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I replied tersely. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks. "Um…yeah. Rose told me you don't have a date to the Yule Ball yet. So I was wondering whether you'd like to go out with me?"

It was too soon for me to go out with someone else after breaking up with Scorpius. I wasn't such an insensitive pig as to go out with someone else immediately. I was about to give her my answer when I saw Scorpius and the slutty looking girl he was with casually walking together, arm in arm, and laughing.

Anger surged up in my chest. What was wrong with him? To think I was going to refuse Betty because I would feel guilty about it. Here he was, already getting it on with a prostitute! I wasn't going to be some pathetic pining damsel in distress! I would get a date to the Yule Ball too.

"I'll be your date." I said to her.

"Really?" She beamed. "I'm so happy! I thought I would never get a date!"

"Hey. Isn't that Potter?" The girl said loudly. "I've never seen him with a girl before."

Betty was too busy talking to have heard what the girl had said. I could feel Scorpius' eyes lingering on me. I was going to show him that I wasn't even thinking about him anymore. I had moved on like he had. I leaned down and interrupted Betty with a kiss. Her lips were soft, but they didn't make my body heat up like Scorpius' lips had. I felt nothing.

I broke it off. Betty's eyes were round saucers. "Wow!"

I subtly glanced at Scorpius, but he was engaged in an avid conversation with his whorish girlfriend. I took Betty by the arm, and walked away, feeling despondent.

In potions class, Rose interrogated me about my kiss with Betty. "So you do like her!"

I just shrugged. I couldn't exactly tell her the only reason why I had kissed Betty was to make Scorpius jealous, but that plan had obviously failed. He was too taken up with his girlfriend's bosoms. He was sitting at the back, sharing a pot with the girl, whose name I finally remembered. Belladonna was such an ugly name. Even Mildred was better!

I sighed, staring down at my cauldron. The colour was meant to be a prune colour, but mine was shit brown. It smelt like shit as well. Well it looked like I had decided to make my feelings.

Rose frowned. "Are you okay, Al?"

I longed to tell someone of my problem, but I couldn't. She wouldn't understand because it was Scorpius Malfoy. She had proclaimed a dick bag, which had no brains, and James said a troll could be a better Seeker than him. How could I tell these people about my feelings for him?

"I just feel a bit queasy." I muttered.

"Oh. Do you want to go to the Hospital Wing?"

"I'll be fine." I doubt Madam Pomfrey would be able to cure these feelings.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

I watched all the competitors walk into the hall with their dates. Betty kept getting excited, but I couldn't care less. I sat down at a table in the corner, and drank my Firewhiskey, bored. I knew I had gotten drunk on Firewhiskey, but I needed something to take my mind off Scorpius.

Betty tried to engage me in conversations, but I wasn't being very helpful.

"You look very handsome." She complimented.

"Okay." I sipped my drink.

Betty looked at me expectantly. I supposed she wanted me to ask her to dance, but I didn't feel like dancing. The only person I wanted to dance with was in the arms of a slutty bitch. Fuck her.

Rose approached us on the arm of one of the Gryffindor Beaters. I never bothered to learn his name. He seemed so insignificant. "Hey. Don't you think it's wonderful? John and I danced five times!"

"Glad to see someone is having a good time." I said, sounding surly.

Rose glared at me. "Well someone is in a bad mood."

A guy sat down next to me, and started to light a cigarette. I had only smoked once when I was fifteen, thinking it would make me a little bit more normal, but I hadn't since then. I tapped the guy on the shoulder. "Can I have one?"

"Sure." He passed me a cigarette, and lit it for me.

"Al!" Rose exclaimed, looking horrified. "Do you know how bad those are for you?"

"Oh, bugger off." I puffed out smoke, closing my eyes. It was starting to make me feel a little bit more relaxed.

Rose was looking at me as if she had never seen me before. Her boyfriend placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'll get you a drink."

I raised my empty glass to him. "Get me one too, Jimmy."

"_His name is John!_" Rose's voice had risen to a shrill.

"What part of my face looks like it cares?" I leaned back in my chair, and carried on smoking.

"You're horrible!" Her voice choked up with sobs. "What's gotten into you?"

I had enough of this. My temper finally burst. "I'm a Slytherin, aren't I? I'm meant to be a bastard, so drop the act Rosie, and admit how much you hate that. Now run along, and play with old Jake."

"My name is John, you fucking jerk." John took Rose by the hand and led her away.

"You made her cry!" Betty was staring at me in astonishment.

I shrugged my shoulders, searching the crowd for Scorpius. I had seen him ten minutes ago with Belladonna, but I hadn't seen him dance, and he wasn't even in the hall anymore.

"You haven't even danced with me once." Betty whined.

I needed to get out of this hall. I felt like I was in a cage here. "Find someone else to dance with. Just open up your legs and they'll flock to you immediately."

"You bastard!" She shrieked.

I walked out of the hall, and stepped into the corridor. There were lots of people milling about, talking and smoking. We weren't allowed to smoke in the school, but all of the professors were too busy to notice.

"I never knew you smoked." Scorpius leaned against a wall, looking handsome in his navy blue robes.

"Shows how much you knew," I threw out the cigarette. "Why aren't you in there dancing with Belladonna?"

"Why aren't you?" He countered.

"I don't fuck girls."

Scorpius let out a low whistle, his usual mocking smile on his face. "You sure do get potty when you drink Firewhiskey. So you fuck boys instead?"

I felt my cheeks flush, and immediately got angry at myself for letting Scorpius know he had succeeded in humiliating me. "Don't confuse me with you. You like anything that has a hole for you to put your dick in."

I felt a sadistic pleasure when I saw the hurt and anger in his grey eyes. "You've had too much to drink."

Maybe I did, but I couldn't care less. The pain and anger I felt when he just abandoned me leaked out in the form of trying to hurt Scorpius the best way I could, and I knew what that was. "Maybe it has something to do with genes. Your mother is probably such a slut that she thought Love stood for Legs Open Very Easily."

"YOU BASTARD!" Scorpius whipped out his wand, and pressed it to my chin.

The pain I felt was overwhelming. I thought I had finally found a friend in Scorpius. He was the only person I had shared my art with, and although we argued a lot, I still felt happy around him. Then he went and left me for that bitch. That thought was what urged me to carry on. "I've heard your mum's a Veela. Apparently she doesn't just lick your dad's dick but others as well."

"I'm warning you, Albus. I'll curse you."

I ignored him. "In fact I heard she does pole dancing as well."

"_Shut up, Albus!_"

"FUCK YOU!" I screamed, shoving him in the chest forcefully. "You only ever think about yourself. Other people's feelings don't matter to you. You never took into account that you were the first friend in Slytherin I had. You just tossed me aside as if I was a dish rag. FUCK YOU!" I hadn't realised tears were pouring down my face. It must have been the influence of Firewhiskey.

Scorpius stared at me stunned. "Albus. I—"

"Shut up." I turned my back on him, feeling embarrassed. I couldn't believe I just said all of that crap out loud.

Scorpius grabbed my hand. "You can't go back inside looking like that. Come on." He started dragging me away from the hall.

"Let go! Where are you taking me?"

"The Room of Requirement."

The Room of Requirement contained a king sized bed. I sat down on the bed, and Scorpius handed me a potion, saying it would help make me sober again. I gulped it down, and my headache disappeared.

I looked at Scorpius warily. He hadn't said anything after I insulted his mother, and then went on my ridiculous tirade of my hurt feelings. I would much rather he would come out and mock me than this horrible silence. I wanted to know what he was thinking.

"I'm sorry for what I said about your mother." I muttered. I took out a cigarette from the packet I had found lying in the room, and lit it. I think I was starting to become addicted to smoking.

"Don't be," he gazed at me, looking very tired. "I deserved that. I never realised how hurt you was."

"That's because you're an insensitive fucker."

He chuckled softly. "I always loved your straightforwardness. I went out with you because I thought you would be interesting. I had never planned to be serious with you."

"I know that," I snapped. "You never liked me."

Scorpius got up from where had been sitting on the floor, and sat on the bed beside me. "You are wrong there, Al. I broke up with you because I got serious about you. I couldn't stand the fact that you would only go out with me because of blackmail. I hated it. I wanted you to be serious about me as well, and when I saw it would never happen I thought it was pointless to carry on this charade."

I was dumbfounded. Scorpius had broke up with me because he liked me? So he hadn't abandoned me, but thought I just didn't like him in the way he wanted me to. He was wrong! These feelings I had been having, the intense jealousy of Belladonna, were not normal things a friend would feel.

I took a deep breath. "I don't like you Scorpius. I hate you for doing shit like this." Before he could say anything else, I grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him towards me, and kissed him.

He let out a sound of surprise, but didn't pull back. He forced his tongue inside my mouth, and swirled it around mine. We broke away, the tips of our tongues still touching. Scorpius pushed me on to the bed, climbing on top of me.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing?"

That familiar smirk of his curved on his lips. "You kiss me like that and you expect it not to lead to more?"

"You pervert! Stop reading too much into the situation!"

"So you don't want to do it?" He murmured, pressing his lips to my neck. His hands slipped under my dress shirt, and started roaming up and down my chest.

His hands were setting my skin on fire. My whole body quivered, and a small moan escaped my lips.

"If you want to stop now, say it," Scorpius told me. "I won't hold back after this."

My logical side said that if we didn't stop now, there would be serious consequences, but I loved his touch so much. I wanted more of it. So I didn't tell him to stop, but complied.

"Scorpius." I murmured, running my hands through his hair. His hair felt as soft as pine feathers.

Scorpius responded with a slow savouring kiss. He pulled off my clothes, and then his. I tried not to feel embarrassed, but I couldn't help it. No one had ever seen me completely naked before, and I felt self conscious of my scrawny frame next to Scorpius' toned, lithe one.

He licked my nipple, making me gasp. "Hah! S-scorpius!"

"You're really sensitive." He murmured, his tongue slathering my nipple.

"Y-you don't need to commentate."

"You're right," he pushed my legs apart. "They do say actions speak louder than words."

Scorpius was using the phrase in the wrong context, but he didn't give me time to point this out. He thrust himself inside me, making me cry out in a mixture of pain and pleasure. It hurt at first, making me feel sore, but then it started to feel good. I moaned, my body arching upwards to meet his. I was surprised to hear Scorpius making sounds of pleasure as well.

"Scorpius." I whispered, wrapping my arms around his back.

Scorpius lay down beside me, kissing me on my ear. "Do you still hate me?"

I leaned my head on his chest. "I think I might be…" I trailed off, my cheeks turning red. Oh god, I couldn't believe I was about to say something so corny and embarrassing.

"Fine. I'll say it. I'm in love with you, Albus Severus Potter."

"I love you as well." An enormous weight lifted off my chest now that I had said what I had wanted to tell him. I started to feel drowsy and without realising it, I fell asleep in Scorpius' arms.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

It was Christmas time, and everyone was looking forward to going back to their families for the holidays. I couldn't wait to see Mum and Dad again, but I was going to miss Scorpius. After the Yule Ball, our relationship had finally stabilised and I couldn't be happier.

We were sitting in the Room of Requirement, having finished decorating the Christmas tree we had placed in the room, and now we were opening our presents. I had no idea what to get Scorpius, so I had to get him something generic. I bought him some honeycomb chocolates and a shirt that I thought would look good on him.

"Thanks, but having you spread eagled on the bed naked would have made a wonderful present as well." He whispered, his hands already moving to my hips.

I had already anticipated the lewd comment, and whacked his hands away. "Should I throw in a lap dance as well?"

Scorpius looked at me expectantly. "What are you waiting for?"

"I'm not going to lap dance for you, idiot!" I shoved him in the chest, laughing in spite of myself.

Scorpius smiled, pecking me on the cheek. "Now for your present." He took something out of his back pocket, and handed it to me.

I opened it and found an emerald ring lying inside. The emerald had the Slytherin snaked encrusted on it. It was absolutely beautiful and I had no doubt that the emerald was not fake. "Scorpius…"

"You should be proud of your House," he cupped my cheek, smiling. "You're one of us, Albus, and don't ever forget that." He placed the ring on my middle finger, and kissed me.

I closed my eyes, letting his tongue graze my teeth, and then wrap around mine. I wanted the kiss to last forever. He broke away. "There's something I want to talk to you about."

His serious tone scared me, and I had a feeling I didn't want to hear what he wanted to say. "Go on."

Scorpius rested his head on my shoulder, wrapping his arms around my waist. I could smell his cologne mixed in with after shave. "I love you so much, Albus. I've never felt this way about anyone before."

"I know. I love you too, Scorpius."

"That's why in your seventh year, I want to leave with you."

I felt my body stiffen. "W-what?"

Scorpius pulled back, his grey eyes staring at me straight in the eye. "You heard me. I found a flat near a London art college where we can live together."

This was too much to take in. I must be dreaming because there was no way anyone would give up the magical world for a Muggle life. Especially a guy like Scorpius who came from a pureblood family who absolutely despised Muggles. "You'd seriously do that? You do understand you wouldn't be able to use magic whenever you want."

"I don't care. The magic in my life is you."

I rolled my eyes at his cheesy words. "You are too much."

Scorpius pulled me closer, his lips pressing on to my earlobe. "So is that a yes?"

"You'd still come along even if I said no. You're an unstoppable force!"

"There's one other thing."

I sighed. "I'm not going to do a lap—"

"That's not what I'm talking about, but that would be nice. I think you should tell your parents about what you plan to do in your seventh year, and our relationship."

I knew Scorpius was going to bring this up sometime, but I had hoped he had forgotten about it. I agreed with him that I would eventually have to explain to my parents why I wasn't returning to Hogwarts, but I didn't see why it was necessary to tell them about Scorpius. "Okay, I'll tell them."

"And our relationship?"

"Well…I don't see why that's necessary."

Scorpius' face darkened in anger. "It is absolutely necessary! I'm your boyfriend, and your family doesn't even know that."

"Why do you want them to know anyway?" I retorted. "You hate them so why would you want to meet them?"

"Of course I don't want to meet them!" Scorpius exclaimed. "If I was in the same room as your dick bag brother, his arm would be missing within five seconds. This is for _your _benefit. You have a family who cares about you and if you keep pushing them away, you'll lose that."

I had never seen Scorpius look so pissed off before and that made me angry. He was acting like I was the only one who had to tell my family. "What about you? Why don't you tell your family?"

Scorpius laughed mirthlessly. "My family doesn't give two shits about me or my life. I don't even live with them."

"What?" This was something I had never heard before.

Scorpius' shoulders slumped, his anger leaving him and replaced with weariness. He looked so tired and worn out. "My father was so haunted by his cowardice when he abandoned the Death Eaters and couldn't live down my shame. He didn't even notice how my mother was whoring around. The place was just so gloomy that I had to escape. That London flat I was telling you about is where I live."

I couldn't believe that I was hearing all of this now. How long had I been with him? Since the beginning of the year, and I had never thought to ask about his personal life. I felt so guilty at the thought that Scorpius had been alone all this time, and he couldn't even confide in me until now. The person who was supposed to be his boyfriend. I had been so selfish.

I hugged him tightly, not wanting to let him go. Not wanting him to be alone again. "I'm sorry, Scorpius. I'll tell them because I love you. You don't need to be alone anymore because you've got me."

"Albus." Scorpius whispered. My full name sounded as sweet as music when he said it. I knew he said it because my family and friends called me Al, and Scorpius was more than that to me. He was the person who I wanted to be with forever. I supposed this is what people would call finding your soul mate, but that just sounded too cheesy and embarrassing to say out loud.

"I love you, Scorpius Malfoy."

Scorpius pointed at the mistletoe hanging above our heads. "As there's mistletoe, we have to have sex. Am I right?"

"You're completely wrong!" I cried, my cheeks heating up. "Besides, my Aunt Luna said mistletoes have nargles in it."

"What the fuck are nargles?" Scorpius looked baffled.

"Apparently they are creatures that are thieves."

"Well," Scorpius pushed me down on to the bed, ripping my shirt open. "We'll just have to risk being thieved."

Once Scorpius started touching me, I couldn't resist him, so I succumbed to him as I always did and relished in his love.

I didn't know when I had fallen asleep, but when I woke up it was nearing dawn. Scorpius' arms were wrapped around me, and he had placed the blanket on top of our naked bodies. I stirred in his arms, accidently waking him up.

"Sorry." I apologised.

"It's okay," he yawned, stretching his body. "You should get ready. You're going to have to leave for home soon."

It had occurred to me just now that Scorpius would remain at Hogwarts by himself. It pained me to think that he would be on his own, and a crazy idea suddenly appeared in my mind. "Come home with me."

Scorpius blinked. "What?"

"Come home with me," I repeated. "My siblings take home their friends, and my parents said I'm welcome to as well."

He scowled at me. "So I'm just a friend now?"

"I have to tell them the truth about us anyway and I'll feel much better if you're there with me. Please, Scorpius." I begged.

Scorpius ran his hands through his hair that had become fluffy in his sleep. "Fine, but don't blame me when everything goes to hell."

My gut instinct told me it was the right thing to do and I hoped my instinct wasn't wrong.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 **

James, Lily, Rose, and the others naturally reacted with shock when Scorpius came with me on to the train and James looked like he was about to whip out his wand, but I promised to explain everything once we arrived at home. So they had no choice but to keep quiet.

In order to avoid awkwardness, Scorpius and I sat in a different compartment. Scorpius didn't talk much and he was nervously tapping his foot. It was weird seeing Scorpius actually nervous and I had to stop myself from snickering.

"It's okay," I took his hand and squeezed it. "Dad can be very understanding."

Scorpius looked sceptical, but he didn't say anything.

We arrived at our stop, and we all filed out. James grabbed my arm. "_Now _can you explain why _he's _here?" He pointed a finger at Scorpous, looking at him as if he was a goblin.

I shook my head. "Mum and Dad need to hear this as well."

"No!" Rose shouted, startling me. Rose never raised her voice. She was always the calm and sensible one amongst us, so I was shocked when I saw her big eyes filled up with tears. "You've been hiding away from us for so long, Al! Tell us now or I'll hex you!" She whipped out her wand, and jabbed it into my chest.

"Rosie!" Lily cried. "Calm down!"

"Shut up, Lily! You've been so preoccupied with your stupid boyfriend that you haven't noticed how weird your brother has been acting!" Rose lashed out.

Lily's face flushed red. I felt sorry for my sister. She shouldn't have to pay attention to me, and she had every right to be concerned with her own life. I felt pissed off at Rose for saying something so selfish.

"Sis! What's wrong with you?" Hugo stared at Rose as if he didn't even recognise her anymore.

"I'm sorry, Rosie," I said. "But just wait a bit—"

"No!" James interrupted. "I've put up with your bullshit long enough. It's all his fault." He pointed an accusing finger at Scorpius.

Scorpius returned Jame's hateful glare with a seething one of his own. "_Me? _I don't think you're one to talk."

"All of you stop!" My voice was drowned out by everyone else's.

"Yes, you. The Malfoys are like poison," James spat. "My dad saved your dad's life, and did we get any thanks for it? No! You still looked down on us. You wouldn't even exist if it weren't for my family!"

"I'm not my father." Scorpius snarled.

Things were spiralling out of control. I had to do anything, but what? I couldn't move without Rose hexing me.

James smirked. I had never seen my brother look so cruel. "I think you're more like your mother. I've heard you've banged every girl in Slytherin, and when you ran out of girls you moved on to boys. It's true what they say. Like mother like son."

Scorpius roared and punched James on the face. The two went down, scratching and punching each other.

"Scorpius!" I yelled, moving towards the two boys.

"_Petrificus Totalus!" _

My arms and legs snapped together, and I fell to the ground. Rose had cast a Full Body-Bind Curse on me. There was no way I could move and get to Scorpous now. Damn her!

Everything was chaotic. Somehow, Lily and Rose had ended up fighting, and Hugo had disappeared out of sight. I saw James punch Scorpius in the mouth and then shove him on to the ground. James placed his knee on top of Scorpius to stop him from moving. He whipped out his wand, and dug it into Scorpius' cheek. "If I rearrange this pretty face of yours, I wonder if it'll put an end to your whoring problem."

Scorpius desperately tried to sqiurm his way out of James' grasp, but James kneed him in the stomach. Scorpius gasped in pain, the fight in him leaving his body.

_Scorpius! _I wanted to shout, but my mouth couldn't move. Rose's stupid spell had me completely paralysed, and all I could do was watch helplessly. This wasn't my brother, but maybe it was. I suddenly started thinking about that time when I was ten, and had snuck into James' room. James had banned everyone from entering his room, and I was curious to see why. There was nothing suspicious in there except for the book on dark magic.

"You always thought you were stronger than me," James hissed. "But you're wrong, Malfoy. I'll always be stronger than you. _Crucio!_"

Scorpius screamed, his body jerking upwards as if he was being electrocuted. No, this couldn't be happening. Yes, James could be a dick sometimes, but he would never use one of the Unforgivable Curses on anyone, but the evidence was right in front of me.

"James, what are you doing?" Lily shrieked, her eyes wide with horror.

"Oh my god," Rose whispered. "_Oh my god._"

James started giggling hysterically. "_Crucio! Crucio! Crucio!_"

Scorpius howled, his body writhing in agony. I wanted to cover up my ears and block out his screams. It was worst than watching a lamb being slaughtered. Why couldn't I do anything? GODDAMN IT! I watched Scorpius curl up into a small ball, sobbing. This was not the same Scorpius I knew. I had never seen him cry and look so helpless before. This was my fault. I should never have brought him here. Scorpius was right in thinking something would go wrong.

"_Stupefy!" _Dad's voice bellowed.

James froze, his wand falling out of hand, and Dad caught him before he could hit the ground.

As soon as Aunt Hermione did the counter spell on me, I ran straight to Scorpius. Mum was kneeling beside him.

"Scorpius!" I shouted, tears running down my face. Oh god, please don't be dead! I couldn't take it if he was dead.

I wrapped my arms around him, and held him to my chest, crying.

"Honey," Mum placed a hand on me. "He's just passed out, but we have to get him to St Mungo's."

I didn't want to leave him, but I knew what she said was true. I wiped some dirt of Scorpius' cheek, and kissed him on the forehead. "Don't die on me now."

I sat in the waiting room, clutching the coffee that Uncle Ron had gotten me. As soon as we brought Scorpius in, a flood of Healers rushed him into a room immediately, and we were told to sit in the waiting room. Dad and Mum were dealing with James right now but I didn't want to think about him right now.

"Al?" Rose's eyes were puffy from crying. "I'm sorry."

I gave her a unconvincing smile. "For what? You didn't do anything."

"But I hexed you!" She looked like she was about to start crying again.

"You were just worried about me," I quickly said. "Let's call it even, okay?"

Rose looked like she wanted to say more, but she just nodded. We were all too tired from the shock of what James had done. How long had he been mad for? Why hadn't any of us noticed?

A Healer came in. "Are you the people who brought in the boy?"

I leapt out of my chair. "Is he going to be alright?"

Uncle Ron placed a hand on my shoulder. "Easy."

"He's going to be fine." I had noticed the Healer's hesitation.

"But…?" I prompted.

The Healer sighed. "He's strong enough to have not lost his mind yet, but he's not scotch free. The pain that the Cruciatus Curse is so great that it will leave psychological damage if used more than once."

"But you just said he's fine!" Aunt Hermione exclaimed.

"It's difficult. He's not so much a lost cause that he can't communicate with us. Why don't you talk to him and you'll see?"

No. I couldn't talk to him when I just stood by and let him get tortured. I didn't want to see the hatred on his face when I went in. It was too painful. _You're such a coward_, a cruel voice whispered inside my head. Scorpius had been tortured and here I was, too much of a chicken to take responsibility for that. I understood why I could never be a Gryffindor. I sank down into the chair, and buried my face in my hands.

I heard my Dad exchange conversations with Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. "Al?" Dad sat down beside me. "Why won't you go see Scorpius?"

"_I'm _the reason why he's here in the first place," I looked at Dad. "He said it was a bad idea to come here, but I didn't listen."

"You really love him."

If the situation wasn't so dire, I would have blushed and denied it instantly. So I just nodded. "I wish I didn't. Love is meant to make you happy but I feel so miserable right now."

"Son, do you remember when we went to the theme park, and you didn't want to go on that roller coaster because you were scared it would break off and you would die?"

"I don't see what that has to do with anything." I muttered. It seemed Dad was teasing me.

"It does," Dad insisted. "You're too scared to take a leap of faith, Al. Yes, love is meant to make you happy and it can also make you sad, but if you really love someone then you should be able to make it through the horrible stuff together. If you can't do that it's not love."

"What if we can't make it through this?" I demanded. "What if Scorpius hates me now?"

Dad gazed at me in wonderment. "You don't realise how much you've changed. When I saw you run towards Scorpius, I had never seen you look so determined. In all these years I've looked after you, you have never looked so animated before. I always thought the person who can put up with my jaded angsty son must be amazing. I don't think Scorpius will hate you. The only reason why he'll hate you is because you didn't go and see him."

I hoped what Dad said was true. Before I met Scorpius, I thought I'd always be on my own and never have anyone understand me. I remembered how great it felt when Scorpius told me that I was a Slytherin, and I shouldn't be ashamed of it. I was saved from the loneliness that threatened to overwhelm me. Scorpius had dragged me out of it, and had loved me for reasons I still didn't understand.

"I'm not going to tell you what to do," Dad got up. "This is something you have to decide for yourself. Whatever you do, I'll still be here for you." He walked off to join Mum.

There was only two hours left of visiting hour, so I had to make a decision now. If I didn't visit him, I'd lose Scorpius forever and I didn't want that. The sounds of his screams echoed inside my head. I thought about what Dad had said. What if we couldn't make it through this? We had been through a lot of shit, but this was something that was nearly impossible to move on from. It's not like I could say _Hey, I'm sorry about my brother torturing you, but let's stay together anyway. _Dad was wrong.

"Or maybe I'm wrong?" I said out loud. I had messed up on so many things. Maybe I didn't deserve to be with Scorpius. Oh god, I was so confused.

"One hour left of visiting." The intercom announced.

I got up, having made my decision.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **

I kicked Scorpius' door open and ran inside, with my duffel bag slung over my shoulder. In our rush to get Scorpius to the hospital, we hadn't bothered leaving our luggage behind. So I just bought a cheap duffel bag from the hospital, and stuffed all the necessities needed into it.

"Albus, what are you—?" Scorpius began to say.

"I'll explain everything later," I chucked a T-shirt and jeans of his at him. "Get dressed."

For a second, I thought he was going to refuse but he just nodded, and rolled out of bed. Thank god, he listened. I looked at my watch. Mum and the others could come back any minute now, and our chance to escape would be lost.

"Okay. I'm ready," Scorpius said. "Now can you explain what's going on?"

I grabbed his hand and ran out of the room with him lagging behind me. He had just been tortured so he was in no state to start running, but we had no choice. I'd beg for his forgiveness later. "My dad gave me some advice. I was going to break up with you because I thought it was my fault you got tortured, but then I realised that wasn't it. The truth was I was scared. I was scared of being in love with you because I was waiting for it to backfire on me like everything always does, but Dad told me that I had to take a leap of faith, so that's what I did. I want to be happy with you Scorpius, living a Muggle life."

"I'm really happy you've said that, Albus," Scorpius panted. "But where are you exactly taking me?"

"We're gonna do what you said! We're going to live in that London flat of yours together!"

Scorpius stared at me dumbfounded. "And your dad told you to do that?!"

By now the alarms were going off. I never expected them to find out Scorpius was missing so fast. A Healer came around the corner, and yelled at us.

I whipped out my wand and shouted, "_Expelliarmus!_" The Healer went flying smack into the wall, leaving a massive giant hole.

"Oh my god," Scorpius gaped at me. "When did you get so fucking badass?"

"Aha!" A wizard leapt at me from behind, wrapping his arm around my throat and practically throttling me. "I got him, Jerry!"

Scorpius narrowed his eyes, and kneed him in the groin. The wizard shrieked, letting go of me and collapsing to the ground, moaning. Scorpius grabbed my hand and started running, panting and wheezing.

The whole hospital was in uproar. We burst into the reception and the Welcome Witch shrieked, waving her hands hysterically. "There they are! Someone do something!"

A man with a chicken attached to his hand tried to apprehend us, but Scorpius just pushed him aside, sending him crashing into a woman with a plunger coming out of her nose's lap. She shrieked, and started yelling in some unknown language.

Then we were out of St Mungo's, and in the bustling streets of London. No one paid attention to the two teenaged boys that appeared out of nowhere. Either that or they just didn't want to know.

"Do you know where we go now?" Scorpius asked me.

I hadn't planned this far because I didn't think we would be able to escape the hospital. I looked around desperately and spotted a beautiful shiny yellow Lamborghini. I had only ever read books about how to drive but maybe this could be a practical lesson. I pointed my wand at the car door. "_Alohomora._"

The car door clicked open, and I pushed the door open. "Get in."

Scorpius looked at me dubiously. "Do you know _how_ to drive?"

"Yes," I lied. "Now get in before the Healers come!"

Just as I got into the driver's seat, Healers burst out onto the street. I pressed down on the brakes just as one of them spotted me. The tires screeched and I zoomed and zigzagged past cars, invoking a number of angry honks.

I couldn't believe this. Never did I expect my fifth year at Hogwarts to involve my brother going bat shit crazy, breaking my boyfriend out of St Mungo's hospital and then stealing a Lamborghini, whilst being chased by a bunch of angry Healers and a guy with a chicken attached to his hand. The ridiculousness of the situation made me burst out laughing.

Scorpius glanced at me. "What's so funny?"

I wiped a tear away. "I was just thinking how my life has gone so crazy since I've met you."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all!" I couldn't stop the big grin that came across my face. "After all this, I don't want to ever go back to my old life!"

A small smile appeared on Scorpius' face, and his eyes started to close. "I don't want to go to sleep when we have a bunch of angry Healers and a chicken man chasing us."

"Go to sleep. I'll handle it."

"Are you sure?" Scorpius had already fallen asleep.

It was a whole four hours before I finally lost the Healers and the chicken man. I didn't know where I was going. We couldn't go back to Scorpius' flat because that would be the first place they would come looking for us. I really hadn't thought this out. We had nowhere to go.

By now, we were definitely out of London, and I was driving along an empty highway. I parked the Lamborghini and started ruffling through the duffel bag. I had packed clothes, lots of food, and a map. I opened my map and started looking for possible places we could go. I sighed, running my hands through my hair.

"Everything okay?" Scorpius sat next to me on the bumper of the car.

"What would you do if I said I've just ruined our future?" I enquired.

Scorpius stared off into a distance. "Hippogriff."

I frowned. "That's not very helpful."

"No! Look!" Scorpius pointed to a Hippogriff that was standing in front of us.

"What the heck is it—?"

Scorpius leapt off the car and ran towards the Hippogriff. The Hippogriff nudged its beak into Scorpius' hand, and Scorpius laughed delightfully. "It is Mr Hippogriff!"

Not only was it a Hippogriff, but it was one of Hagrid's Hippogriff. How did it find its way here? I went over to Mr Hippogriff, and stroked his back. That's when I noticed a letter attached to his leg. I peeled it off and opened it. It was written in Hagrid's messy scrawl.

'Al,

Your dad asked me to do this. You better know what yer doin. There's a small town in Texas called Prielivila. The folks over there will help yer. Me Hippogriff knows the way. Good luck.

Hagrid.'

Once again, Dad had helped me. I held in the tears that threatened to fall down. Scorpius was right. I really did have a family that loved me, and I was going to chuck that way? No, I wasn't abandoning them. I was just finding my own path, and I knew that whatever life I chose it would be with Scorpius.

"What does the letter say?" Scorpius asked.

I showed him the letter. "We're going to make it. We're actually going to make it!"

Scorpius smiled, kissing me. "It's called true love."

"Don't say weird shit like that." I kissed him anyway.

We got on the Hippogriff and were in the air. I had a feeling that life was just about to get started.

THE END (for now)


End file.
